One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season (Large Print / Paperback)

Description

Down ten and a half games with a month to play, the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals mounted one of the most dramatic and impressive comebacks in baseball history, going on to win the World Series despite being down to their last striketwice. Now, the team's longtime manager, Tony La Russa, gives the story behind this astonishing comeback and his remarkable career, examining the devastating injuries, crucial games, and players who made it all possible.

But this story is much more than that of a single season. Revealing his often scrutinized and frequently misunderstood approach to managing, La Russa explains his counterintuitive belief in process over result and team unity over individual talent. Along the way he shares stories from throughout his careerultimately showing how, in a sport often governed by statistics, the secret to his success has been surprisingly human.

The end result is a passionate and remarkable look at our national pastime that takes you behind the scenes of an impossible comeback and inside the mind of one of the game's greatest managers.

About the Author

Tony La Russa managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996 to 2011, as well as the Oakland A's and the Chicago White Sox. He has three World Series wins, six league championships, and five Manager of the Year awards, and is ranked third in all-time major league wins. He and his wife, Elaine, founded the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, California. They have two daughters, Bianca and Devon.

Rick Hummel has covered baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for forty years. A former president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, he has received numerous awards for his writing and has been honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.